


The Prince of Seirin

by LiYun, tinysweetscat



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Advisor Koujirou, Advisor Mitobe, Alternate Canon, Assasin Seto, Bodyguard Kuroko, Canon Reflection, Evil plots, Ex-guard Alex, Fighter Ishida, Guard Hara, Guard Hyuuga, Guard Izuki, Guard Yamazaki, King Haizaki, King Hanamiya, King Kiyoshi, Kirisaki Daichi/Fukuda Sougou alliance, M/M, Matsumoto as Hanamiy'a 'pawn', Medieval AU, Pickpocket Kazuhiro, Prince Kagami, Queen Riko, Romance, Slow Build, Teacher Tsuchida, Translator Koganei, everyone in the alliance as Hanamiya's pawn realy, monarchs, more plot-oriented than about relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-12
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-09-17 01:03:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9297374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiYun/pseuds/LiYun, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinysweetscat/pseuds/tinysweetscat
Summary: Rumors of an alliance between two of the worst kingdoms on the continent have spread but the lack of proof means that there is no confirmation. An attack on the outskirts goes unnoticed by the major kingdoms and only two men are able to escape from the peril: the kingdom’s prince and his guard. Together, they travel across the kingdoms to recruit help and free their family, friends and land from a dreadful fate. But not all the monarchs are prepared to help, there are secrets to be dug up and time is running out…





	1. Prologue

Hanamiya Makoto was known to be a patient man. He was often compared to a spider when hunting: waiting for his unsuspecting prey to arrive and fall into the intricate trap he laid. But today was a day that his reputation was put on a line as time passed and his servants walked about fearfully, waiting for him to explode out of anger. It was clear that he was waiting for something to happen. Or someone. After a couple of minutes and getting more and more irritated, Hanamiya finally asked his chief advisor icily, “Where is he?” Koujirou Furuhashi was often referred to as ‘dead-eyes’ because of his emotionlessness but right then, even his eyes reflected fear. At the lack of response, Hanamiya’s eyes hardened further. Everyone who could heat him shivered as he spoke lowly, “Who does he dare think he is to make me wait?”

 

As if summoned by his wrath, the main doors suddenly flew open and four people entered. A tall man with light ash-grey hair and a crazy glint in his eyes walked across the throne room as if he owned the palace and went to stand in front of Hanamiya, looking down at him. “You, Hanamiya Makoto?” He questioned. “Wrong. It's Your Highness for you.” Hanamiya glared, standing up. He was still irritated with the fact his visitor had left him waiting. If it wasn’t for the fact he needed this man for his plan… His guest gave him an amused glance coupled with an irksome smirk. “Why don't you call me Your Highness too then? I  _ am _ the new king of Fukuda Sougou after all.”

 

Hanamiya gave him an annoyed look. “Don’t be ridiculous. I would never call you that even if hell froze over.” The other man shrugged.  “Heh, same to you.” Then he straightened up, “But enough about that. You wanted to talk to me?” “Yes, that’s right. You want to know why I called you here don't you?” Hanamiya said as he started to made his way to another room where a large table with the country map on top of it could be seen as his guest followed him. There were some scattered little flags in it, symbolizing troops. Most of the little flags were situated around a specific space, near the coast. The name, written in black ink, was crossed out with a knife. It read “SEIRIN”.

 

“If not, I wouldn’t be here.” Hanamiya’s visitor finally replied, scoffing. Hanamiya smiled, a creepy kind of grin that warned all those who saw it of his full capabilities. Then, he casually announced his true purpose of inviting another king into his home, “I want your kingdom to join forces with me.” His guest didn’t take long to process or respond. “What’s in it for me?”

“Simple. You join me and their reign comes to an end.”

“They being…?” Hanamiya sighed at the amount of time it was taking the other to realise what he was getting at before answering, “The Generation of Miracles.” 

 

The entire demeanor of the taller man transformed in an instant. Well, Hanamiya thought, that was simple. “How?” his guest demanded but Hanamiya simply raised a bushy eyebrow, “Does it matter? You should know that I don’t ‘play’ unless I am sure of my victory.” And then, just to ensure he didn't lose the interest of his bait, “Weren’t you seeking revenge? I could be of help.”

 

“How do you know that?” the man demanded. He sure was making a lot of demands for one in foreign territory. Hanamiya just smirked, “Oh I know you  _ full _ well. After all, there aren’t many who get thrown out of Teiko. Isn’t that right, Haizaki Shougo?” Haizaki growled in anger. He had never revealed that part of his obscure past to anyone. Though Hanamiya did have enough power that he would be able to to dig up something like that. “Shut UP. That’s none of your business!” It only served to make Hanamiya’s grin larger. “You’re right. I only want your help in making them fall. And, for that, I’ll need personal information that only you could provide me with. So, do we have a deal?”

 

Haizaki didn’t know what Hanamiya was capable of. But he did know what those idiots from Teiko were capable of. And even now, he knew they would have only gotten a lot stronger. He wanted to refuse Hanamiya’s alliance offer but, on the other hand, if there was a possibility that he could get his revenge...the idea of getting to see defeat painted all over their faces-especially ‘ _ his’ _ face... Yeah, it was an attractive thought indeed. But,  he wasn’t about to participate in a plan without knowing the details first. He had to know that he would be able to defeat them for sure. That he would be able to steal everything precious to them from right under their noses. “I want to know the plan first. I won’t join you without knowing the risks. I still have a kingdom, after all.” Hanamiya stopped for a moment before he burst into a fit of giggles that resembled that of a madman. “You’re a funny individual, Shougo.” He wheezed, “I know that you know exactly how risky our plan is. If we fail, we die. Simple.”

 

“That’s not really a good method to convince me, you know?” Haizaki rolled his eyes. “Ah,  _ yes  _ (the glint that appeared in Hanamiya’s eyes made Haizaki shiver). But that way it will be more interesting, don’t you think? Anyway, I already told you that MY plan won’t fail.” “Why should I believe you if you don’t explain your ‘perfect’ plan to me?” Haizaki snapped, patience running low. He started to pacing in order to calm down. It wouldn't do to lose his temper now, of all times... Sensing his irritation, Hanamiya spoke up, “You don’t. You have only my word for this. Of course, you could always refuse. So? Which one will it be?” Hanamiya tapped his fingers on his the dagger impaled through the map on the table. It was a clear sign of what Hanamiya planned to do if Haizaki tried to refuse, almost tempting Haizaki into laughing.  He'd known since the beginning, when he'd gotten the letter front the king of Kirisaki Daichi that he didn't have a choice. What was the point of maintaining a stupid charade? Nevertheless, he found that he did not mind at all. Licking his thumb while grinning, he answered Hanamiya’s spoken and unspoken questions. “Okay. I accept. However, I want all the details. If I catch you not telling me everything you planned…Well, let’s say you better have written your last will.” Two could play at this game, after all.

 

“I would love to see you try.” was Hanamiya Makoto’s only response. After a moment in which their gazes held a battle of resistance, Hanamiya started his explanation by turning to the map and following his ideas with a finger. “The easiest way to surround the capital would be by attacking first those villages in their fringes of the domain. Seirin is the weakest one, being newly founded, as well as the furthest one from the capital so none of the ‘Generation of Miracles’ will care if we attack them. They won't even notice our first move if we quickly capture Seirin by striking at night.” Haizaki nodded, “Heh, they won’t see us coming, right? Hmpf, fine. I don’t care as long as we destroy them.” Hanamiya mentally celebrated the simplicity of his new pawn. A disposable one but also a functional one. He did enjoy playing with insects who thought they actually meant something. Everyone was just his toy in the end. “When will it be?” was the only question Haizaki came up with. Hanamiya didn’t answer immediately, choosing to respond only as they started to make their way back to the throne room, “Soon. Very soon.” 

  
For his part, Haizaki felt himself grinning as he raised a hand to lick his thumb. He couldn’t wait to get revenge on  _ them _ . “It will be  **fun** .” he stated. Hanamiya could only silently agree. Indeed, it would be. After all, it didn't matter how good the princes of the ‘Generation of Miracles’ were or how strong their kingdoms were. Break the princes, and they were all just trash.


	2. The Calm Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the main story begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So so sorry for posting this so very late! Please blame it all on me and not LiYun because she did her part but I was a bit busy and scatterbrained and took forever which is why we're posting this so late. For future reference, we're planning on posting at least monthly. If we somehow manage more than one chapter in a month, then lucky you. Otherwise, we'll be struggling to meet deadlines (or I will be at least. *sigh*)  
> ~kittycute40

-Three months after-

 

Kiyoshi Teppei, the Iron Heart and king of Seirin, and Hyuuga Junpei, his right hand and bodyguard, sat together as they faced one of the most difficult moments of their lives. This was because, in front of them, stood Aida Riko, the queen of Seirin, with a variety of good-looking dishes displayed on the main table of the royal dining room. The fact that they both knew, from first-hand experience, the dangers of letting the Queen cook their food for them didn't ease their nervousness one bit. “Riko, dear, what is this?” asked the king, albeit reluctantly. “What do you mean ‘what is this’?! It's your meal, you idiot!!” Riko beamed. “I thought of how tired you both would be after travelling to the main capital and back-over the course of a few days, too-so I decided to cook something to boost your energy. I made sure to include all the latest supplements in it for you two.” As Riko waved her hand so the servants would start serving, innocent-looking plates full of curry made their way towards the two males, who were trying to come up with an excuse for not eating. Junpei was able to come up with an excuse first, “Aida-sama, I am afraid that, as I am on guard duty all day today, I do not have the time to be able to sample your, no doubt, delicious foods.” Teppei glared at his supposed friend, that traitor! But then he remembered something and turned towards the queen seriously, at least seriously for him. “That reminds me, Riko dear, there are some matters that we need to discuss in private first that relate to the meeting we attended at the capital.”

 

Aida Riko was known for her ability to see through plans and she pouted at the blatantly obvious excuses her companions came up with but, because her husband was being serious, she decided to postpone their punishment. “Well, if you insist who am I to say no...” Both males let out an audible sigh of relief as they realised that they had, for now, managed to avoid a fate that could result in their death. “But!”, the queen grinned, causing her companions to become alert again, “You _will_ be trying my new recipe later whether you have time or not. Are we clear?” The fearsome expression on Riko’s face was enough for both Teppei and Junpei to cry out ‘yes’ in synchronisation-though they were both crying internally as they made their way to the royal couple’s private quarters. At the door, the trio found Izuki Shun, Teppei’s other bodyguard known for his ‘Eagle Eye’, a skill that helped him to pinpoint any close threats. Izuki closed the door behind them as they all entered the room and went to stand in front of the window; the monarchs both relaxed with the knowledge that they were secure. Junpei moved to stand in front of the door while Teppei and Riko sat down facing each other. Then suddenly, the atmosphere changed, the tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife, making both Riko and Izuki flinch.

 

Riko looked at her husband and his bodyguard worriedly, “So, how did the meeting go? Did it have anything to do with the new king of Fukuda Sougou?”. Teppei frowned at Riko’s accurate guess, “Sorry dear, but the problem is worse than having a new king appear in Fukuda Sougou. There are rumors travelling around the capital that said kingdom has _allied itself_ with Kirisaki Daichi.” Riko was shocked and horrified at the news. However, she knew, deep down, that this sort of thing _could_ be expected from a country whose monarch had changed so suddenly that it was suspicious. It didn't help that king of Kirisaki was rumored to have been an unscrupulous assassin before coming into power. Why a prince had been going around killing people, no one knew but it all made Riko frown in distress. She didn’t like the thought of having to deal with an alliance between the two worst kingdoms in Japan but without proof… it was hard to plan anything. Still, she spoke up, “Even if they _are_ just rumors, it’s better to stay alert. We don't know anything about them and that makes us an easy target. I want everybody to keep an eye and an ear glued to the news so we will be aware if something suspicious happens. Also, tell the guards to be extra careful.” The last sentence was addressed at Izuki who nodded, “Yes, my queen.” He then proceeded to leave the room in order to deliver the message of strengthening their defenses around the kingdom to all the knights.

 

“Shouldn’t we send someone to confirm those rumors as well?” asked Teppei, thinking about the number of guards they had that they could spare for scouting but he was immediately refuted by Hyuuga. “We haven’t got many guards or knights as it is, so if we _do_ send patrols outside to gather information, we would be compromising the security within the country...” Regretfully, he added, “As no one's expecting real danger for the time being, there haven’t been many who enlisted in the army...” Teppei frowned, an unusual expression on the monarch’s generally cheerful face, “Hmmm, I see. That’s unfortunate. Isn’t there anything we could do then, just to ensure we know what's going on outside?” Junpei looked nervous as he spoke, looking cautiously at the Queen’s face, “We _could_ always ask aid for the ex-guard living at the outskirts, you know, the one your son is friends with. She is more experienced than even me. And if the prince himself also enlisted...”

 

“That won’t be happening.” interrupted Riko, standing up agitatedly. “He is a child! Not to mention that what he needs to do right now is to study, so he can be capable of defending himself when the time to represent our village in front of the main capital arrives.” At the thought of his heir, Teppei looked at Junpei and asked, “Now that Riko’s mentioned it, where _is_ our son?” The captain of the army sighed, admitting the truth under his queen’s glare, “He should have been in his algebra class. Just before lunch, Tsuchida came in saying that he had disappeared in the middle of lessons. I had to ask Kuroko to fetch that little rascal for me. He’ll probably take some time though, as the prince is probably training with the ex-guard I was talking about earlier. ” Teppei smiled unassumingly at Junpei, in a way that the latter turned a shade pinker in response. “Oh I see, then that’s okay. With Kuroko, he’ll be fine.” Riko looked from one to the other but chose to not say anything about that, though she started scolding her husband. “Teppei! You shouldn’t be thinking about that! Do you not have anything to say about our son escaping his responsibilities again?! How that boy is planning to become a king, I don't know. I swear that...”

 

As Riko started to discuss their son’s lack of responsibility _again_ , Junpei quietly exited. It was always the same; whenever the young prince escaped to town, both parents started discussing about the behavior of their only son and how it was time for him to start taking his classes more seriously and let go his dream of being a knight. The rascal sure had the physique to become one, and Junpei himself would love to train him, but Riko was convinced that rather than fighting with a sword, he should concentrate in learning to defend himself more with words. One of their many attempts to make their rebellious child listen to them was to try and marry him to a princess so he would take his duties more seriously but when Kagami had discovered his parents’ plan...well, the ‘discussion’ that followed had been the main topic of the castle’s gossip for three weeks straight. For now, he hoped good luck to the young prince because once he returned, there would be hell waiting for him. Well, technically it would just be Riko, but that was kind of the same thing.

 

-

 

If there was something that Kagami knew for sure about being royalty was that having responsibilities sucked. A lot. Since the day he had been told that, as a king, he was expected to be better in politics rather than fighting, he had done his best to try and skip as many responsibilities as he could-without being caught, of course. He preferred to learn how to fight but unfortunately neither his father nor the captain had time to train him and they were both scared of his mother. But all that had changed during one of his escapades, when Kagami got involved into a fight with his future best friend, Tatsuya, against five older, and bigger, children. Just when they had been losing, a woman, who they later found out was named Alex, came and helped them defeat the bullies. After discovering her past as a skilled sword fighter, Tatsuya and him had always tried to convince her to take them as her apprentices and, with the power of their cuteness and losing in many more fights, they were finally able to get her to agree to train them both. However, those good old days had come to an end with Tatsuya going away, him being busy with ‘royal duties’ (which basically meant more lessons) and because he could no longer escape the palace thanks to his personal guard, Kuroko, a shadow among shadows. Kuroko was the same age as him but it took Kagami a long time to be able to get along with the other boy, simply because they came from a whole different bunch of experiences and because Kuroko would always disappear on him. It was only after he found out that Kuroko couldn't help it and he trained himself to be able to locate Kuroko even when the bluenette seemed to disappear that the two were able to form a tentative friendship that had only been strengthened by time.

 

Today, though, he had managed to escape both his lessons and his guard after Tsuchida and Kuroko were interrupted by the royal advisor Mitobe Rinnosuke and his translator, Koganei Shinji, after they had spotted Queen Aida going to kitchen and had fled in terror. After disguising himself with temporary hair dye he kept especially for this purpose and which would wash away with cleansing, he left for the main village of Seirin where people only knew his as that ‘young man’ who was kind enough to visit his 'aunt' that lived at the outskirts of the kingdom. At times like this, Kagami was glad that his mother was overprotective and hadn't allowed any information of him to be leaked, because now it meant that no one could recognize him.

 

After spending some time walking, Kagami arrived at a little wooden house situated at the top of a hill, near the edge of town where the forest began. The second he reached the top, a voice shouted at him, “Who's there?!” Kagami smiled at the familiarity of his mentor’s actions, “Alex, its me. Taiga.” The door flung open, and a beautiful, busty, bespectacled blonde with a sword on her hips rushed out. Only to hug Kagami, squeeze her breasts onto his face and then feel him up as she smooched him. “Taiga! I missed you so much! Why do you always take so long to come back?” Kagami made a face, pushing away from Alex and taking back the blades that she'd stolen from him. “Eughgghh! What the hell are you doing? Being part French is not a good enough excuse for my so-called aunt to kiss me on the mouth! Also, it's disgusting. You are like a second mum for me.” Alex pouted, finally letting go of the redhead, “Geez, don't be so uptight, Taiga! It's just a kiss!” Kagami grumbled ‘You're the only one who thinks that way!’ was ignored as Alex opened the door and hustled him into the house.

 

Upon entry, Kagami was hit by an intense nostalgia, seeing everything was still the same as ever. The wooden table with the three odd chairs that he had helped Alex carve, the stairs that led up to her bedroom, her beautiful bookshelf stuffed with books and, as Kagami took the third row’s tenth-from-the-right book out, titled ‘The Secret of Good Food’ and pressed the button behind it, the hidden room full of swords and daggers. Yep, still the same place as ever. “Hey, there! Don’t make mess everywhere you go. And put that book back on its shelf.” Alex came back from the kitchen with two mugs, one with black coffee and the other with hot chocolate. “Nostalgic, isn't it?” she smiled, observing her guest who had closed the hidden room and was now sitting on his favorite chair, looking around. It had been some time since Taiga came to visit her. Last time he had only been back for six hours before his personal guard came to retrieve him. She would swear that that boy was a ghost in reality with how silently he could move but Kagami always laughed her claims off. Today, she planned on keeping the prince in her company until she was sure he remembered every lesson he had received from her. All that idle time with no practice and training due to overprotective parents would definitely have dulled his fighting instincts. It was a shame really, he was a natural swordsman.

 

With that thought in mind, she finished her coffee and wandered upstairs. Sensing her intentions, Kagami also finished his mug and went after her. On her roof, Alex had arranged a large terrace and had started gardening on it. Next to a tree, there stood two wooden swords ready for practice. Alex kept them around for whenever Taiga could visit.Without a word, Kagami took one of them and went into position, waiting for Alex who, immediately after taking her sword, stood in an offensive stance in front of him. “Remember to advance the right foot. Be patient and wait for your moment. I'll attack now because we're just sparring but, in an actual battle, wait for your enemy to make the first move so you can see their fighting style and be able to predict their movements. And finally-” she inhaled and charged forward “-prepare yourself!!” Both swords meet mid-air, Kagami stopping Alex’s attack by a small margin. Alex smiled, he really was rusty. Jumping back, she positioned herself to defend against the onslaught of attacks from her protégé. Kagami made a quick slash up the top followed by a wide cut with the sword so he could cut at her side while she was defending herself from above but Alex foresaw his move and twisted her wrist so his blow deflected off her own sword. She then swung wide and low to knock Kagami’s feet out from under him and make him lose his balance but she was without luck. Kagami jumped high, already swinging his wooden sword down at her head and once again, their swords clashed loudly. Separating, they began to circle each other in silence, without lowering their weapons. Kagami had been sloppy in the beginning but he had good form now, Alex observed proudly.

 

Because of her thoughts, she was caught off guard when Kagami suddenly leapt forward and with a loud shout, tried to hit Alex from above but she dodged with a jump. He returned to the charge only to find his sword blocked by Alex's that had been raised with the intention of attacking from above as well. From there, they began a play of complex moves, too fast for the eye to see, but in which Kagami looked to be winning, pushing Alex back. Having backed away, Alex lost balance for a few seconds so when Kagami made another overhead cut, she had to duck out of the way. It seemed that the tables were in favor of Kagami and becoming overconfident, he charged again, this time trying to throw her to the ground. But Alex saw him coming and, without warning, began a fast-paced assault, forcing Kagami to retreat. Just as Kagami and Alex locked their swords again, she grinned, the only warning Kagami had, before tripping him. A dull thud could be heard as Kagami's sword spiralled to the side and his body hit the floor. With Alex pointing a dull, wooden tip at his throat, Kagami groaned, raising his hands in defeat, “I yield, I yield. You can let me up now.” Alex grinned, though her heart was thudding fast. The redhead had managed to make her break a sweat. He truly was improving. “Good. One more time. Up!! Be less overconfident this time. The fight isn't over until the opponent is dead, unconscious or yields. What happened to watching your enemy’s moves to see how they're going to attack? I know you're not good at studies but USE YOUR BRAIN. And fix your sloppy footwork, too!”

 

This time, Kagami acted with precaution. He started to circle Alex without losing his battle stance, but without moving to attack either. Alex, on the contrary, started her attack, making it as fast and aggressive as she could-she had to check her students reaction time too-forcing Kagami to once again fall into a defensive position. Struggling, he managed to make a counterattack through a side cut when Alex’s sword was raised a bit too high and the impact threw off Alex enough that Kagami got the upper hand, raining a shower of blows upon his mentor, not giving time for rest. As Alex defended herself, Kagami tripped Alex in payback and she fell down, finding a wooden sword at her neck and two blazing, red eyes yelling at her to surrender. She sighed, accepting her defeat. “Not bad, Taiga. This woman is getting a bit old.” She used Kagami’s outstretched hand to pull herself up and dusted herself off. “But you still need a lot of practice. You're relying too much on side cuts, you're becoming predictable and for goodness’ sake, _use_ your jumping ability, would you? It's not the type of skill most fighters have so it's an advantageous weapon that no one will see coming. Get into formation again.” Kagami grinned at her ferally, making her shiver despite having known him for so long, “Yeah, let's go!”

 

By the time the sun had begun to set against the horizon, Alex and Kagami had been sparring for hours, coming up surprisingly evenly considering the fact Kagami had been out of practice. As time passed both of them grew more accustomed with the other’s fighting styles, making it more difficult to win a battle. While Kagami was stronger than Alex, she made up with it speed and her cunning nature. Feints were one of her many strategies and although Kagami didn't use them often he compensated it with his direct and continuous attacks and overwhelming power that would sometimes knock the sword right out of Alex’s hand. All in all both mentor and student were matched well against each other. They were taking a break and Kagami was drinking water while Alex gave him pointers when Kagami felt a sharp, painful jab at his side, almost causing him to spit out his water. He didn't need to look at the culprit to know who it was. “Oi Kuroko! What was that for?!!” he groaned, rubbing at his ribs. Alex’s sword didn't hurt as much as Kuroko’s petal-soft hands if the bluenette felt like it. Kuroko, the bastard, looked far from regretful and was obviously amused at Kagami’s pain, “I am sorry, Kagami-sama, but Hyuuga-san has asked me to return you to the castle.” Kuroko turned his blank gaze towards Alex who was unnerved by his inexpressiveness, though Kagami could see the slight upturn of his lips that signified friendliness. “I am sorry to interrupt your time with Kagami-sama, Alex-san, but we do need to return as soon as possible because it's already getting late and Kagami-sama, though he often forgets it, _does_ have a curfew.” Kagami cursed his memory while Kuroko bowed to Alex and started to make his way down the stairs leading into the house. Kagami had no choice but to follow. “See ya later, Alex. Hopefully soon! Look after yourself and don't go about kissing unsuspecting innocent people!” Kagami’s voice faded as he also went down the stairs. Alex smiled to herself as she moved to the side of the roof to watch them make their way down the hill-or at least watch Kagami. His guard had disappeared from sight again. When the redhead was no longer visible, Alex too made her way down into her home, taking the swords with her to smoothen from the day's rough use and thinking about what kind of training would help Kagami improve his fighting. She couldn't wait until tomorrow when she would sit down and drink while planning her next training menu. Alexandria Garcia, as she took a shower before falling dead asleep, could never have guessed that the tomorrow she looked forward to would never come.

 

-

 

“Hey, Kuroko, wait for me!! Dammit, slow down, would you?!” Kagami panted as he caught up to Kuroko. He was still exhausted from the day’s training. Kuroko quickly looked his prince over to make sure he was still able to get back on foot himself. He nodded to himself when he saw that Kagami was fine-just a bit bruised and fatigued. “I am sorry, Kagami-sama, but we must return as soon as possible. I do not wish to face your mother's wrath at taking too long to get back. We are already in trouble as you ran away.” Gulping, Kagami said “She's gonna be so angry, isn't she?” Kuroko didn't say anything but both of them knew what the answer was. Kagami looked at Kuroko apologetically, “Sorry ‘bout that. You wouldn't be in trouble if it wasn't for me.” Kuroko looked at Kagami’s worried face and flopped dramatically onto the grass, catching Kagami off guard. “What? Kuroko, you OK? What happened?” Kuroko turned periwinkle eyes towards ruby ones. “I am tired from hurting and you are fatigued from training. Maybe we should take a break. We'll need strength to be able to face your mother.” Kagami smiled at his friend's antics as he joined the bluenette on the ground and looked up. The full moon was completely visible with the absence of clouds and the millions of stars were crystal clear, all making for a breathtaking view. Kagami sighed in happiness. Yeah, they were gonna get scolded pretty badly when they got bad but everything was OK. (And if there was a small voice in the back of his mind, saying that he shouldn't let his guard down, well, that didn't matter. He just wanted to relax for once.)

“Kagami-sama.” Kuroko spoke up, softly, barely interrupting the silence. Kagami turned to look at his clear, blue eyes and pale, creamy skin and rosy pink lips. “Hm?” he asked distractedly. Kuroko’s eyes crinkled in amusement at Kagami’s spaciness. “Maybe you should talk to them about your feelings. I am positive that you could make an agreement with them.” Kagami slowly blinked back into focus. He sighed, knowing exactly what Kuroko was talking about. “I want to. But whenever I try to say anything, they say it's just a phase. It's not-I truly do love sword fighting. Alex and Hyuuga-senpai both say I'm a natural but Mother, especially, refuses to listen. Perhaps Dad would but she just overruns him sometimes. I wish I wasn't born nobility...”

Kuroko looked at the sadness etched on Kagami’s face but it was too much and he turned his gaze back towards the sky. “While I _can_ say that they both care about you and that's why they try to do what's best for you, I admit they do appear to be rather close-minded. However, I will stick with what I said, you should talk to them honestly.” Kagami got up, wretchedly, “But they just don't listen!” Kuroko laid a hand on Kagami’s to calm him down. “Maybe what you need is to listen to each other. Also, it isn't like you to be so negative.” Sighing, Kagami closed his eyes just feeling the wind caressing his cheek. He knew that, as always, Kuroko was right. It was infuriating but maybe the one who wasn't listening was him. He should've tried harder. “What would I do without you...” muttered Kagami. “Probably getting into trouble more often without having anybody to help you out.” answered Kuroko cheeky. Kagami stood up surprised and red faced. He didn't think Kuroko would have listened to him but as he met Kuroko's gaze he couldn't help but feel embarrassed by his own words. Kuroko smiled as as a blush that matched his hair colored Kagami’s face. Kagami shook his head as if to shake the embarrassment out, spluttering, “Sh-shut up. Let's go back.” Kuroko gracefully got back on his feet. “Yes, Kagami-sama.”

 

Kagami started walking, deep in thought, totally missing the warm smile that appeared on Kuroko's face, who stood still in the same spot, watching him go ahead. The first memory Kuroko had of arriving at Seirin’s palace was the radiance of Kagami’s smile. It was so bright he felt the need to close his eyes in fear of being blinded from it, though the boy was just as old as him. It had all started as a guard-prince relationship but as time passed, he knew he had started to develop deeper feelings for his prince. He kept calling him 'Kagami-sama' because it always amused him how the title alone was enough to fluster his prince. However, he knew he couldn't confess his feelings because not only did he not want to risk his friendship with Kagami, the prince didn't know of his past either and he would like to keep it that way. The story was too bitter to tell to someone as pure hearted as the redhead. That was why he had come to a decision to always hide those feelings of his. For him, Kagami was too important. A familiar voice broke through his thoughts, “Hey, Kuroko, come on! Didn't you say Mother was angry? Better not make her wait.” Kuroko felt his mouth turn into a mischievous smile all by itself, “I believe we may be too late. It _is_ night now.” Kagami looked at him in alarm. “Geh! Come on, then! We gotta hurry!!” Chuckling, Kuroko sprinted to catch up to the redhead who was waiting for him, “Yes, my prince.”

 

-

As they passed the market the air began to change. Kagami didn't know how to describe it, but there was something that stirred in him and warned him of danger as they approached to the palace. The feeling that had been annoying him before came back even stronger and Kagami went on guard, putting his hand at his scabbard. He usually used wooden swords with Alex but that was because he was better with his steel blade and wooden swords were more difficult to use. He noticed that Kuroko had felt the same sense of danger because suddenly there were daggers in his hands and he started sticking close to Kagami, though the few remaining townspeople milling about still didn't notice him. Kagami had stopped wondering where did Kuroko hid them long ago-the guy was just like a magician. As they approached the palace, the nasty feeling seemed to grow stronger and stronger. When the palace came into view, Kagami thought, for a moment, that everything was fine and they had been unnecessarily worried but Kuroko had become tenser. So Kagami looked again. And he saw the fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there are many mistakes, please let us know. I hurried to finish this and so I might've been slacking.  
> Also, you can message me on Tumblr @tinysweetscat though LiYun doesn't have one yet.


	3. First Wave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the alliance make the first move and Seirin struggles.

-Two days before-

“So. Why'd you call me over again? I'm busy with the girls to be found here.” Haizaki’s loud, brash voice grated in Hanamiya’s ears and he glared at the other man in response. “I invited you to my kingdom for the sake of this alliance only. Stop your little games. There’s a kingdom we need to take down.” Haizaki looked at Hanamiya amusedly. “Never took you for someone so serious. And aren't we just going in and taking them out? We're more than strong enough.” Hanamiya toyed between the thought of punching Haizaki, growling or just facepalming. He inwardly sighed as he came to the conclusion that Haizaki was a valuable pawn who he could not dispose of yet. He took a deep breath before continuing, “Unlike you, I am smart enough to plan out a strategy for complete annihilation of the enemy, crippling them. Just attacking could cause losses on our side and we'll need as many soldiers as possible to attack the bigger kingdoms. It's not worth it to waste resources on some weak, hopeless kingdom.” Haizaki rolled his eyes and finally flopped down next to Hanamiya on the library’s couch. “Che. I don't see why I've always gotta follow your plans. I don’t remember having allied with you just to be a slave to your orders.” Hanamiya smirked. “Did you know that I know the King of Seirin personally? You must have heard of his leg-slashed so badly that he has to resort to crutches every now and then and the scars...Well, you will be pleased to know that I caused it.” Haizaki gulped, breaking into a sweat. “Let’s do this, shall we? I promise that once you have actually listened to my plan, I will regard your demands.” Haizaki’s arrogance returned with a ‘You better’, though it was clearly weak. It still annoyed Hanamiya but he calmed himself, smiling icily and he rose from his couch. Haizaki was still a valuable pawn. He would dispose of him when he no longer needed him but for now, he would exploit him. “Now, I don't care how many whores are waiting for you, you'll be here for the next hour or so. Here's what we're going to do…”

-Seirin Kingdom, 22:00 pm-

The sound of the captain of the army rushing into their sleeping quarters and bursting the doors wide open woke up the royal couple, who were both light sleepers, and warned them that something was wrong. Riko blinked as she pulled herself out of the bed and sighed at the realisation she was in her nightgown and had to change. Teppei just pulled the covers down, revealing that he was just wearing his silk trousers, his shirt left forgotten again. Junpei blushed fiercely at the sight of the two but did his best to regain his composure. Teppei smiled lazily at the sight of him while Riko had to stop herself from giggling. This wasn't the first time this kind of thing had happened-and probably wouldn't be the last-but it still was funny to see Junpei’s reaction every time.

“There have been a couple of fires started around the palace near the stables, Teppei. Stop smiling! Come help me find what's going on outside. Riko-” Junpei turned to look at his queen and almost died in mortification as he caught the sight of skin before the queen managed to get her robes on. Riko smiled in amusement, “Yes, Junpei?” The captain almost choked at the flirty tone of voice but Teppei thumping his back helped. He glared at the taller man then turned back to Riko. “Please stay here. One can never know if this is an ambush or not and we need you to keep fort in here.” Riko winked, “Of course.” Before Junpei could choke again, Teppei pushed him towards the door. “Alert Izuki and tell him to stick with Riko. I'll get changed and armed then join you.” Junpei left hurriedly.

The second the door closed behind the captain, Riko burst into laughter, “Did you see his face? I think he was about to faint!” she managed to get out as she gasped for breath. Teppei smiled. “I think we came on a bit too strongly. Come on, we have to make sure everything is fine.” Teppei gently kissed his wife before they both got ready for leaving. Riko attached her dagger sheaths to her thighs and acupuncture needles’ pouch to a belt she slung around her waist. She was very skilled at acupuncture and she knew how to use one's pressure points against them. She also had several black belts in all kinds of martial arts. Styling her hair using her sharpest pins and finally grabbing her main weapon, a sprat, Riko was ready. She put on her cloth boots to muffle any noises and a dark green trench coat of Teppei’s, that covered most of her, for camouflage. Smiling at her husband, Riko left. Teppei had changed into his armored vest and loose cloths made for ease in fighting and hiding weapons. He put on his chain that held a vial for poison-a gift from Kuroko-and the sheath for his sword. He also put in his cloth boots and grabbed his shield before making sure to hide the crown jewels in their hiding places and leaving.

-

The first thing that greeted Teppei’s eyes, when he went outside was complete and utter chaos. Guards, nobility and servants rushed everywhere, carrying buckets full of water to where the fires seemed to be growing by the second. Horses were running about, free, their panicked whinnying and frightened rearing making them difficult to control. Teppei quickly came to the conclusion that multiple fires had been created to make the mess bigger. It was impossible for so many of them to crop up all at the same time. There were at least five different points that were on fire and all of them seemed to concentrate on the stables and the warehouses-both of them vital points for transport and supplies. This was a planned attack. He could only hope that Izuki and Riko would be safe as he and Junpei handled the mess outside. Stopping one of the guards who was carrying supplies away from the warehouses, he asked for Junpei. The man’s response made his lips thin in a grim line, “Majesty, he’s at our largest store where the extra food rations have been set on fire.” Junpei internally sighed; trust Junpei to pick the most difficult and dangerous task. There was no point worrying about it now however, “Lead the way.”

Both of them hurried to the burning fire, where Teppei was greeted with a gust of smoke that made his eyes water. Covering his face with the handkerchief the guard handed him, he went ahead alone and searched for Junpei, which he found in front of the warehouses shouting orders continuously and at the top of his voice. He approached him from behind, “Junpei! What happened? ” Junpei shouted off a few more orders before turning to look at his seriously. Teppei was glad for how stable he became in clutch times. “The situation is worse than we thought. All of the have been set on fire and so have most of the warehouses. We are trying to get it under control, but this is a bit much. We need more water and hands.” Teppei nodded in understanding, “Okay, I’ll go get more help to-”

Suddenly, there was the sound of an explosion from behind them, punctuated by shrieks of pain and alarmed shouts. The two of them looked at each simultaneously before they started running towards the commotion. Some of the wooden roofs of the stables had collapsed and there were people trapped underneath beams that were still burning. They rushed in to help those that were trying to get rid of the beams, Junpei directing and Teppei using his strength to help. Those that were able to make it were carted off to the infirmary tents while everyone else resumed their fight against the fire, more determined than ever. What happened next was a blur. They all rushed to extinguish the fires and the buckets of water retrieved from the well were quickly put into use. Little by little, the fires began lessening in intensity until the stables and warehouses were no longer on fire. As they finally finished putting the fire out, Teppei turned around to look at Junpei; to smile at him and celebrate their little victory. But Junpei had a furrow in his brow and a frown on his face, indicating that deep down he was thinking hard about something. Teppei knew what he was so worried over- even if they had managed to extinguish the fires, there was still the matter of discovering who was responsible for them and that person’s incentives.

In the aftermath, it was clear to see that both fires, despite being located on the outside of the castle, had targeted the stables and warehouses not to wipe out the supplies but so the castle’s only means of transportation would be in disarray and the guards would unite outside the castle’s main building. It was the only explanation Teppei could think of, considering the fires started were small but enough to make their castles’ people join together to put them out. He lifted a hand to place on Junpei’s shoulder and tell him about his thoughts when he caught a flash of silver shining in the moonlight, aimed at his friend’s back. Without second thought, he grabbed Junpei and forced the captain behind his face as he faced the incoming weapon. But he was too late to deflect and a burning pain seared through him as a razor-sharp pierced his clothes and imbedded itself into his right shoulder. He felt groggy as Junpei shook him around to look at, vision turning groggy. The arrow must’ve been poisoned, he thought absently. As darkness fell over him, the only thing he heard was Junpei calling out his name. Well, that wasn't a bad way to go, was it? Riko would be upset. Amused at the mental image of Riko shouting at Junpei over letting him die, Teppei allowed himself to fall into the welcoming arms of the abyss of sleep.

-

As this happened, inside the castle Aida and Izuki fought against Hanamiya and his pawns after being ambushed at the main hall. Clashing her sword against Hara’s, Aida managed to destabilize him and quick action had her piercing his left shoulder, making him fall as he screamed in agony. Next to her, Izuki see his spear to block Furuhashi’s sword. The man had taken Seto's place in the fight after having the other had his leg broken by being kicked by Aida at the top of the stairs.

Everything had been going well before they were ambushed. After having left the royal dorms, Aida had gone to make sure everyone was alright and the palace secured. Passing next to the windows-making sure they were closed-she observed the chaos of people rushing about with water buckets and supplies. She frowned as she realised that the situation was worse than she had thought. Quickening her pace, she made her way through the castle, patrolling the dark, empty, quiet rooms that had been left as everyone rushed outside. As she walked through to the main entrance, Izuki showed up at the end of the corridor, looking visibly relieved. He bowed quickly, “My queen, I was looking for you. Kiyoshi-san instructed that I accompany you on patrol.” Aida nodded her head; Izuki’s lack of puns showed how serious he was. “Thank you for helping. Teppei had let me know.”

As they hurried through the castle, Aida worried as she questioned Izuki, “Why are the fires so big? Have you found out yet who was responsible?” Izuki shook his head in response. “Right now, we don't what what happened because we're trying to minimize the damage first with all our resources. Captains’ instructions, before I left to find you, had been that we would investigate later but try to save as much as we could right now.”Aida sighed in understanding. “One more thing. Did you see anything suspicious on your way here?” Izuki shook his head once more, “Nothing at all. But are you suggesting that-” Aida cut in as he spoke, “Izuki, we are clearly under attack. We need to make sure that everything is closed and secure so nothing should be tampered with. We don't know how bad thing are out there. I want you to-”

But before Aida could finish speaking, an explosion was heard outside and the expensive, imported artificial lights that they had installed turned off, bathing the castle in greater darkness. Neither Izuki nor Aida had thought to bring a lantern so they had only the moonlight filtering into through the windows to guide them. Tensing, both of them gripped their weapons more tightly and waited in total darkness for a few minutes, after deciding that there were still safe. The lights going off could have been a coincidence after the explosion but Aida's guts were telling her that something wasn’t right and that she needed to stay on guard. How could the two not be related anyway? Izuki stopped her as she started to move forward. He ducked in closer, whispering quietly, “I’ll go and take a look at the lights. Don’t move from here and pay attention to your surroundings.” Aida nodded in confirmation. Izuki’s eyes almost glinted in the dark, “Be careful.”

Aida felt the whole thing was just wrong. All her instincts screamed "danger" but there was nothing she could do as she could see nothing. After a minute that felt like eternity, the lights switched on again and Aida sighed in relief as there wasn't any problem. Still, she remained alert and didn’t let go of her sprat while searching for Izuki, going in the direction she had heard him go towards. That action saved her life as she turned a corner in the corridor and a sword cut down towards her from behind a pillar. She only had time to put her own sword in between, before she came face to face with Hiroshi Yamazaki, the captain of army of the Kirisaki Daichi kingdom.

Shielding herself with her sword and pushing the other backwards, she pulled back towards the windows, only to spot another enemy, Furuhashi Kojiro, appearing from the other side of the corridor, sword in hand and ready to strike if necessary. The only exit were the stairs that connected to the main hall and the thrones or the windows, but she didn’t see think she could jump all the way down from the second floor without spraining her ankle and she didn’t want to leave Izuki alone-wherever he was. That only led to the stairs exit. In a dash of speed, she made for the stairwell but stopped in surprise as she looked down as spoofed another invader, Kentaro Seto, one of Kirisaki’s most famous assassins.

Aida looked around at the men cornering her and folded her arms, hiding her fear. Though her heart raced, she made sure to keep her voice steady-it would not do to show weakness. “Kirisaki Daichi, what’s the meaning of this?!” Snickering, Yamazaki pointed his sword at her, “You’re dumb for a queen. Isn’t it obvious? We’re attacking you.” Aida rolled her eyes, “Why are you doing this? Are you the ones who set fire to the stables outside?” Furuhashi negated her accusation with a smirk, “Nope. Our orders to take you hostage.” Aida sneered, keeping up with her facade, “You will regret those orders when my guard and husband arrive. You'll wish to never have been born.” Yamazaki cackled and Aida casually raised her sprat to block Kentaro from attacking her from behind. Yamazaki cackled gleefully, “Oh, how sweet of you to keep believing they’ll come to rescue you. It’s so endearing.” His face hardened. “It makes me want to puke.” Aida’s grip on her sprat tightened, “ _What have you done?_ ” The man in front of her laughed at her fury, “Who? Us? Oh, we didn’t do anything. It’s Fukuda Sougou who’s in charge of taking care after your husband and the guards.” Aida’s shoulders slumped. “I see.” So it was true. Fukuda Shougo and Kirisaki Daichi, the worst of the kingdoms, were now allies.

Left with no other choice and having more information, Aida kicked Seto who stood behind her. A satisfying crunch could be heard from his leg as he fell down the stairs. She quickly followed him down, where two more Kirisaki Daichi members stared in shock, including Hanamiya Makoto himself and his personal guard, Hara Kazuya. Great. Now she was fighting against five of them all by herself while her husband and guards fought against Fukuda Sougou outside. A loud, familiar war cry snapped her out of her musings and she looked to see Izuki charge forward, spear in hand, to pierce Hanamiya’s torso. Everything happened so fast. One moment Izuki was one second away to strike and take down Hanamiya for sure. The next moment, Izuki was unmoving on the floor with a dagger on his back, protruding from his exposed back.

Fearing the worst, she shook off Koujirou, who had planted himself between her and Hanamiya, by kicking him in the guts with her heavy boots, effectively knocking the breath right out of him. Elbowing him out of the way, Aida raged towards Hanamiya, quickly getting rid of the others who came up against her while Hanamiya kicked Izuki, cackling. Aida utilized her wrath as she started fighting against Hanamiya in earnest, not pausing for the slightest bit to allow for any rest and pushing him back into a corner. However Hanamiya predicted her actions and dodged the next attack instead of blocking, giving himself an easy escape. Swords clashed once more and movements became blurred as the fight between them seemed to extend when Hanamiya tripped on something and Aida quickly pushed him down; a knee on his lungs immobilizing him. She grinned coldly as she raised her sword threateningly, “Yield.”

Hanamiya’s grin threw her off, “I don't think so.” As soon as the words were spoken, pain shot through her right side- so intense that she lost her grip on her sword and it fell down beside her with a clatter. Widening her eyes, she followed the direction of Hanamiya's hand and discovered a black dagger nailed just below her ribs. Hanamiya took advantage of her shock and threw her aside, elbowing her on her chest-revenge for when her knee pushed the air out right out of his lungs. Aida grit her teeth, “You bastard…” She tried to push him off of her but her body wouldn't listen and she found herself unable to move, “What have you done to me?!” As Aida struggled and panicked internally, Hanamiya chuckled in amusement, “Don't worry, you won't die just yet-at least for today. After all, I still have plans for you and your husband.” Aida’s eyes widened, “Don't you dare lay a hand on Teppei, you sick bastard!!” she screeched. Hanamiya chuckled again, “Aida dear. As you have surely noticed, you cannot move due to the poison that's traveling through your veins. Outside, your Teppei will have followed the same fate as yours by the hand of my… 'personal pawn'. So don't pretend you're not helpless because. _You. Can't. Do. Anything._ ” Each word was emphasized in front of her, Hanamiya cruelly gripping her short hair to raise her head and force her to look him in the eye. She glared hatefully at the man in front of him, refusing to show weakness. As one last thing, she spat at his face. Hanamiya eyes hardened in anger but he smiled pleasantly as he calmly cleaned it off. “Now then. I do believe it's checkmate.” And the sword came down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry about the late posting :'(  
> Both of us were kept prisoners of the education syste but luckily, we broke free to post this chapter that, even thought it's a bit shorter, we hope it's still as entertaining as the others. So there you go~
> 
> LiYun


	4. Capture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Haizaki messes up and some people are happier than others

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so it's not midnight here yet so technically, this is still on time.

-In another part of the castle, 21:00pm-

 

“ _Achoo_!”

 

“Quiet, you idiot. Do you want us to be discovered?!”

 

“Discovered by whom? There’s no one out there crazy enough to come out here, and freeze in this stupid cold, just because they're assigned for a patrol”

 

“Not everybody is as lazy as you-and some people actually care about doing their jobs properly so shut up. We don’t want to be heard.”

 

“It’s not like I can help it! You can’t stop yourself from sneezing-you just do it because you're stuck in the cold when you'd rather be fighting inside where it’s warmer!”

 

“Will the two of you shut the hell up and help me with the tinder?! Quit your yapping and do your damn job! And do it quietly. Hanamiya will have all our heads if we fail.”

 

Haizaki scowled at his two ‘companions’: a brash fighter, Ishida Hideki, and a bald ex-burglar and pickpocket, Mochizuki Kazuhiro. Hanamiya had assigned the two thugs to him so their three-man team would set the stores and stables on fire. And after setting them with fire, they were supposed to wait until Hanamiya or one of his men arrived with new instructions. But while he was stuck in the middle of those idiots, Haizaki felt himself frown and disagreeing once more with Hanamiya’s so-perfect-plan. He didn't do well with planning. In fact, he utterly despised being bossed around. Why should he be used as a distraction and freeze while Hanamiya had all the fun of toying with the royal family? Then again, he didn’t fancy the idea of getting into trouble with Hanamiya because he had disobeyed. He wasn't afraid of the guy-he just didn't want to have to bothered with being the target of various assassination attempts. Of course, he was too good at looking after himself to really be killed off that easily. Weighing the pros and cons, Haizaki decided to just do what he did best. Steal. He would steal Hanamiya’s part in the battle and have a little fun himself. He'd deal with the consequences of disobeying Hanamiya later.

-

One hour later, Haizaki felt damn proud of himself as he started another explosion near the stables. The loud screams that filled the air did nothing but improve his good mood as he knew that, at least, he had succeeded the first part of the plan-making a distraction that was long enough for Hanamiya’s team to enter the castle. Hanamiya couldn't really be upset with him now even though he was going against the plan by not protecting the docks to ensure that nobody was able to flee. Why should he control the boats if he could make sure that nobody was able to use them by taking down all the soldiers? He watched as the men of the castle startled at the new explosion. More people ran to help put out the fire. Haizaki’s plan was to head inside the castle and confront the king of Seirin himself but he decided he could wait a bit longer, as he watched the destruction he had caused. He had ditched Ishida and Kazuhiro some time ago when they were still starting the stable fires. Hanamiya had sent Itsuki Matsumoto to get the king inside the palace but Haizaki knew that Matsumoto was nowhere as good as him and he could easily overpower him to take the glory of capturing Kiyoshi for himself. Haizaki frowned as the fires were put out quicker than he thought they would take. Or maybe he had been standing around for too long? Either way, he felt annoyed by two figures prominently helped in the extinguishing of the fires. He raised his thumb to his mouth and licked it as he grinned. He should put them out of commission.

 

As Haizaki neared where the two were talking, his eyes widened in recognition and the realisation that Hanamiya had predicted wrong. King Kiyoshi was actually out here with the captain of his army and not inside. Haizaki felt his grin grow larger as he took the bow slung over his shoulder and positioned himself. In the chaos and smoke all around, he wasn’t noticed. Haizaki used one of his special arrows that were potently poisoned and drew the string of the bow back. Hanamiya hadn’t given any instructions regarding who he shouldn’t kill other than the royal family so he could easily dispose of the captain of the army now and toy with the king of Seirin in peace. Haizaki relaxed as the captain and the king stood still as they talked to each other, giving him a perfect shot. He let his arrow fly. But before the arrow could fly straight into the back of the captain to the point right where his heart should have been, the king of Seirin pushed him out of the way and the arrow flew into his shoulder instead. Haizaki’s eyebrows furrowed in anger as the king fell to the ground as the captain shouted and then turned around to look at him. Now Hanamiya might attack him for almost killing the king. Haizaki had to quickly dispose of the captain so the cure could be injected into the king. Otherwise, he would die soon. As he was preparing another arrow, another warrior appeared next to the captain, clearly shouting as he knelt next to the king. Haizaki stood slack-jawed when he realised that the redhead was shouting ‘Father’ over and over again. He realized that there was another member of the royal family that had been overlooked: the prince of Seirin.

-

When Kagami saw the fire, all rational thought left him. Ignoring Kuroko’s warning, he ran. The endless possibilities of everything terrible that could have happened flashed through his mind. As he neared the castle, he growled in anger as he saw that the soldiers stationed outside the town didn’t have the crest of Seirin on their armours. It was an attack. Roaring out a war cry, he began barrelling through them all without stopping. He excelled most in swordfighting but his mother had taught him martial arts quite well and he took down soldier after soldier. It was in a lull that he remembered the sheath at his side and he took out his sword to battle his way through the defenses as he ran to where smoke billowed out from the stables at the side of the town. The stables were next to the castle and opposite of the main town so the townspeople, at least, were safe. But on another side, it meant that it was his family and friends who were in danger. Kagami growled again in anger and frustration at the enemies as he made his way across to the chaos where his people were getting rid of the fire without noticing the soldiers that were making their way to where the castle stood. As Kagami battled multiple soldiers at a time, he saw the distinctive figures of his father, Kiyoshi, and his best friend, Hyuuga, near the fires. He was in the middle of running towards them, when he saw, horrified, an arrow flying from amongst the smoke towards Hyuuga. His father protected his friend by pushing him aside but was injured in the process. Blood rushed through his ears and time seemed to stop for a moment for Kagami as the figure of his father crumpled onto Hyuuga, who bent over him. Kagami saw red. In the matter of a few minutes, he was at his father’s side and staring at his ashen face. Kiyoshi had gone deathly pale and Kagami widened his eyes when he saw purple on the arrow. His father has been poisoned. Kagami turned wide eyes towards Hyuuga whose mouth was set in grim determination. “Kagami, I know you’re upset but we have to fight first. We can worry over Teppei later.” Kagami dismissed the use of his father’s first  name from the captain and nodded sharply, getting up to look around. He saw the archer who had shot his father soon enough. He was wielding a bow half of Kagami’s size and grinning madly. Kagami recognised him from his lessons with Tsuchida as the recent king of Fukuda Sougou. Kagami was going to make him pay.

 

Kagami and Hyuuga moved in perfect co-ordination despite never having fought together before and rushed towards Haizaki Shougo. The man threw his bow aside making Kagami’s lips curl in distaste at the way the man treated his weapon. For Kagami, weapons were a reflection of one’s soul; too important to be discarded so easily or uncaringly. Ever since he had received his sword, he had taken the utmost care of it, never letting it go dull or rusty. Kagami had no respect for a man who would act so cruelly towards his own personal weapon. However, he was forced to admit that the man was good when Haizaki unsheathed his own sword and successfully defended himself against the duo, when both Kagami and Hyuuga were known to be great swordsmen individually and, as it seemed, also spectacular together. It all stopped though, when a voice rose above the din of clashing swords, “If you care at all for the queen of Seirin, stop.”

 

Immediately, Kagami and Hyuuga fell back and turned unanimously towards the voice which, they saw, belonged to the king of Kirisaki Daichi, Hanamiya Makoto. The visual confirmed the alliance of Fukuda Sougou and Kirisaki Daichi but it wasn’t as big of a blow to Kagami and Hyuuga as the sight of one Aida Riko unconscious as she was dragged by her hair behind Hanamiya. The sight of his mother’s face bloodied stole Kagami’s breath and made him double over as if he had been victim to another jab in the ribs by Kuroko. Looking back at both his father and mother out of commission and injured almost brought him into tears of frustration. He had never thought a day like this would come but he was stubborn and refused to cry and show weakness. He wouldn’t give the other two kings the satisfaction of seeing him crumble. The only person to whom Kagami would ever show these emotions to was Kuroko...who was not here right now… Kagami relaxed marginally at the thought of Kuroko being safe and still free but that relief transformed into desolation when he saw how another man following after Hanamiya, dragging an unconscious and bruised Izuki behind him. Clenching his teeth in fury he swore to himself that one day, he would have his revenge on the two kings for doing this to his friends and family.

 

Hanamiya finally spoke up again, “King Kiyoshi and Queen Riko have been captured along with their guard and castle. Surrender now and we won’t kill you.” Feeling Hyuuga tensing up, Kagami realised that, for once, he would have to be the voice of reason. “Hyuuga, stand down.” Hyuuga turned wide eyes towards him, confusion and hurt reflected in his eyes-a parallel of what had happened only minutes ago. “My prince?” Kagami shook his head. “We cannot fight against such large numbers. If we surrender now, we at least will be able to look after the wounded after we are locked up.” Kagami couldn’t imagine what Hyuuga was going through. The captain usually had a clutch mode in which he was ever calmer under pressure but the crush he had on both of Kagami’s parents was not a secret to anyone who knew them-he was probably falling apart internally right now. Hanamiya’s voice interrupted his musings, “The prince is right. I’m sure you’d like to be alive when you get to see your precious king and queen again.” Of course, Hanamiya didn’t realise how true it was when he said that the king and queen were precious to Hyuuga but the words reminded Hyuuga of something else. Teppei and Aida had told him that, if anything was to ever happen to him, he was to listen to his prince and protect him. And his prince had told him to stop. Sighing in defeat, Hyuuga lowered his sword as Kagami copied his movements. In a flash, Haizaki and the rest of the soldiers captured both of them and they were taken to the prison cells under the control of Hanamiya.

 

Hyuuga felt his heart break as Hanamiya ordered soldiers to pick up the king and queen and have them treated for their injuries. Well, he thought, at least, he knew Kagami and Kuroko were still uninjured-wait. Widening his eyes, he turned towards Kagami and saw that his personal guard was missing. A spark of hope born inside his chest as he suddenly realised the ingenuity of Kagami’s orders, who made it possible for Kuroko to escape and look for help. After all, no one outside the kingdom knew for sure about Kuroko’s existence and he knew that if Kuroko had escaped, he would definitely search a way to free them-all they had to do was wait patiently until the help came.

 

-

 

As soon as Kagami and Kuroko had seen the fires, they had started running towards the castle. However, even if he was trained as a bodyguard, Kuroko still wasn’t nowhere near as fit as Kagami and was quickly left behind. He kept following the clear path Kagami left behind as he rampaged his way into the castle, cursing when he had to fight some of the soldiers himself. He was fully capable of looking after himself and he knew Kagami was also a very capable warrior himself, but he also knew that if anything had happened to anyone they knew, Kagami would lose his focus, being heartbroken and furious. He sped up as his worry for his prince and long-time crush increased with every delay. He needed to go and make sure that his prince hadn’t lost control. He noticed that Kagami must finally have taken out his own sword and, with skill and anger running through his veins, his prince had made quite a bloody path-confirming his thought of Kagami being out of control, until he had took everyone out. Kuroko swore again as more and more soldiers got back up after Kagami’s whirlwind and fought against him. That’s when he realised that he wasn’t utilizing his best skill: his misdirection.

 

Focused as he was in the task of retrieving his prince and protecting him, Kuroko had forgotten one of his best cards against a numerous enemy. He then started to retreat, still fighting, allowing the soldiers to make him back up. Just as they fell back around a corner, he quickly ducked out of sight diagonally and sheathed his daggers. Pulling his cowl over his head, he backed into the shadows, spreading confusion between the soldiers, who shouted in bewilderment as he disappeared before their eyes. While they looked for him, Kuroko took the advantage of the confusion to slip through and head towards the fires, deducing that would have been where Kagami would have run off to. When he arrived he was horrified to see how his king had fallen and how Kagami and Hyuuga were both attacking who Kuroko recognised as Haizaki. He felt his stomach churn. Of course, his past would come back to haunt him even now. Just when he was about to join the fight, a voice rang out. Kuroko stood still and stared in shock as he recognised the appearance of the king of Kirisaki Daichi and the figure of Aida Riko being dragged behind him. He wisely stayed quiet and witnessed the whole scene of Kagami’s and Hyuuga’s surrender. He smiled proudly at Kagami’s stroke of brilliance and resilience but frowned when he realised he couldn’t praise his friend. But that was not what was important now, thought Kuroko shooking his head. The entire royal family had been overpowered and the castle had been taken over. Kuroko didn’t know what to do next but...he knew that he had to break the royal family out. He decided to prioritize their breaking first as they were the most important and could give further instructions. But Kuroko would need help to be able to break them out. A smile crossed his face again as he realised exactly who would be able to help him in a time like this.

 

-

 

Haizaki grinned in amusement as Hanamiya cursed and threw a dagger at his head. He just moved and let the weapon hit the wall behind him. “You know,” he said conversationally, “you can’t really be angry at me. I did everything you told me to do and even went further than that.” Hanamiya took in a deep breath and released it before he finally sat down on one of the sofas. They were in the library of the Seirin castle and discussing the fight. “I told you,” Hanamiya spoke in cold anger, “to go to the port and secure the transport. _Not_ to start a battle and lose future resources. We lost a lot more soldiers than we should have and most of the horses are useless now. We could’ve sold them for profit. You almost killed the king. _You went against my plans_ .” Haizaki shrugged. “Yeah, but your prediction was wrong and, if I hadn’t been there, we wouldn’t have been able to capture the royal family. And we got the antidote to Kiyoshi on time so all’s well that end’s well, heh? And anyway, it’s because of _me_ that you were able to find out about the prince of Seirin. Not to mention that you never told me to save the horses to sell them so you can’t really blame me for that.” Hanamiya paused and looked at him thoughtfully, “Yes, the discovery of the prince of Seirin was a useful one. In fact, it’s the main reason why I’m not as angry at you as I could have been. I’ll grant you that. And yeah, in the end we’ve captured Seirin.” Sitting in another sofa, Hanamiya continued “I’ll put two guards at the docks just in case but other than that, we’re good. I had Seirin’s royal family and guards put together in one big cell so when I torture one of them, they all get to see. Feel free to do whatever you want as I plan our next steps.” Hanamiya nodded dismissively at Haizaki as he turned towards the plans laid out on the table in front of him. Haizaki smirked as he licked his thumb and exited the room. He was quite interested in the swordfighting skills of the prince of Seirin. They reminded him of old acquaintances. Maybe it was time to pay the prince a little visit. After a night’s rest, of course. No puny prince was as important as his well-deserved rest. Maybe he could treat himself to a drink or two as well.

 

-

Meanwhile, outside the castle and on the outskirts of Seirin’s town, Kuroko was panting as he finally made his way back to the top of the hill. When he thought about rescuing the whole royal family with the help of someone who wouldn’t be endangered because of their help, there was really only one person he could think of: Kagami’s mentor, Alexandra Garcia. As he knocked on the wooden door, he wondered if Alex was still awake. Probably not. Kuroko felt a little guilty for waking up the older woman but it was necessary. He needed her help. However he felt his guilt disappear the second Alex opened the door in her underwear, flashing to him skin he really could have gone without seeing. As she looked around in bleary-eyed confusion, Kuroko coughed to draw her attention, “Hello, Alex-san.” He waited politely as Alex screamed and carefully dodged as she tried to attack him. Alex stared at him in shock. What was Tetsuya doing here so late and where was Taiga? Kuroko seemed to understand her confusion. “If you let me in, I would like to explain myself.” Alex looked at him warily but opened the door to let him through. His poker face always made her nervous. “What's going on, Tetsuya?” Then, as she noticed how out of breath he was and how he seemed injured, “Is everything OK?” Kuroko looked at her and let the worry show on his face. “I'm afraid not, Alex-san. Kagami-kun and his parents have been captured, and Kirisaki Daichi and Fukuda Sougou have made an alliance that has taken over the castle. I need your help.” Alex flopped onto the sofa next to Kuroko, stunned. This was totally not how she had expected her night to go. “You need my assistance to help them escape, don’t you?” she spoke up. Kuroko nodded. “Yes, I need your help in infiltration.” Alex looked at him determinedly, “Taiga is like a son to me. Of course, I will help you. And I know just how we can do this…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering why the perspective is jumping all over the place and why the pacing and chapter length us becoming increasingly inconsistent, its my fault. And the former is also because we wanted to get this part of the arc done so we can do the rescue next. You can blame the lateness of this chapter on me as well because LiYun was busy this month and I wasn't but I kept procrastinating so it ended up being posted late. As always, if there's anything wrong, please let us know. We'll try to get April's chapter to be longer.  
> ~kittycute40


	5. Apology

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short explanation on why we didn't update last month.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please accept our apology

Ok, so some of you may have been wondering why we didn't update at the very last minute of last month like we usually do and once again, it's mostly my fault. I have had zero motivation/inspiration to work on The Prince Of Seirin this last month [like a writer's block specific for this fic (;¬_¬)] and LiYun was busy with studies so she couldn't do it either. I'm blaming myself because I told her to just leave it to me but then I ended up unable to write. I'd love to make up for it by quickly writing an update now but I'm kinda busy with studies too at the moment so no can do. We're really sorry and we'll try to make it up for you guys by making the next chapter longer but no promises (because apparently I can't keep them). We'll do our best. Thank you for supporting us.  
~kittycute40  
P. S. To anyone who is also going through exam pressure around now, I wish you the best of luck.

**Author's Note:**

> All comments are kudos are appreciated!
> 
> You can also contact me on tumblr at my main @tinysweetscat or writing blog @kittycute40writes. LiYun doesn't have a Tumblr but I'm in contact with her so I'll be answering about this story on Tumblr on her behalf too!  
> ~kittycute40


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